Friday, April 1, 2016

ARC Review: The Three-Week Arrangement by Sarah Ballance

The Three Week Arrangement is my first book in the Chase brothers series and my first book by this author. It's a standalone and you can start reading right here if you want.

I thought this was a really sweet contemporary romance. It's probably a little too sweet for my bitter ass but it's perfect for you hard core contemp rom fans. The Chase brother in this book is Ethan. Even though Ethan is tortured over the death of his wife and forcing himself to live in the shadows of her memories, I liked him. He was hot as fire, brooding and bossy. Check, check and check. Ethan meets Rue and winds up getting hosed down and saved by Rue in a seriously funny turn of events. Rue is empathetic and embraces her attraction to the very skiddish Ethan. Rue finds out about Ethan's history and that they travel in the same social circles and somehow hey hatch this plan to be a "couple" for 3 weeks. Both Ethan and Rue see the arrangement as a way to keep their families off their backs (albeit for very different reasons.

I really like Ethan and Rue together. Even though Ethan insist on torturing himself about his dead ex-wife, his chemistry with Rue is instant. Despite Ethan's best efforts he is drawn out of his dreary shell and into Rue's orbit. I really liked Rue as a character. She had a fearless openness to her that I totally enjoyed. Another thing that I think you will like about this book are Ethan's brothers. They are the perfect meddling bunch. They constantly needled Ethan about his need to move on and they provide comedy relief and perspective throughout the story.

Most people can understand the pain of losing someone close and the agony of having to move on even though you know you have to. I think that's what makes a lot of this book compelling. You get into rooting for Ethan. Not just for him to hook up with Rue but for him to be happy and heal. It's kind of fun to watch him be freaked out by his reactions to her and it was super sweet that she was so patient with him.

Remember if you are a hardcore contemporary romance fan, this book is probably more like 4 stars for you. I recommend you give it a try.